DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709140070

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A16  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   52 lines

ARMY TO TIGHTEN CRITERIA FOR WOMEN ON FITNESS TEST

Faced with overwhelming evidence of divisions between men and women in its ranks, the Army plans to narrow differences in one area that has been a nagging source of irritation for male soldiers: the comparably easy standards for women in their semi-annual fitness test.

The changes, confirmed by Army officials Friday, were considered before the release Thursday of a report that found pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination against women in the service branch. But they highlight some of the most surprising results of the survey that portrayed men as feeling equally aggrieved by some types of gender bias.

Explaining the changes in the fitness standards, Brig. Gen. Evelyn Foote, a member of the Army panel that conducted the gender investigation, said that lower requirements for sit-ups and push-ups by women are a ``serious problem'' for men in the Army.

``Men cannot accept the fact that because of gender there should be different standards,'' she said.

Resentment toward women over such issues was illustrated by the results of a survey of 30,000 troops conducted by the panel, which found that many men believe women receive favorable treatment in the service. Only 50 percent of the male soldiers said they believed that women ``pull their load.'' By contrast, almost all soldiers, men and women, believe male soldiers ``pull their load.''

Some 28 percent of the men surveyed said they believe that ``women have an advantage over men when it comes to having a successful military career.'' Only 9 percent of the women agreed with that.

Similar differences in perception dominated the survey. About 30 percent of men said they believed that female soldiers ``get treated better than male soldiers.'' Only 9 percent of the women agreed. By contrast, 7 percent of the men said that male soldiers ``get treated better than female soldiers.'' Nearly 22 percent of the women agreed with that statement.

However, when asked if women should be allowed to do any job ``for which they can qualify,'' the gap between men and women narrowed significantly. Nearly 70 percent of the men and 80 percent of the women answer yes. Currently women are prohibited from serving in infantry, artillery or armor units.

Physical qualifications for men and women for Army duty have been a sore point since the current fitness test was adopted in 1984. Under the standards, a man who is 25 years old must do 40 push-ups and 47 sit-ups in two minutes and run two miles in 16 minutes and 36 seconds. A 25-year-old woman must do 16 push-ups, 45 sit-ups and run the same distance in 19 minutes and 36 seconds.

In general, the new standards would have women do slightly more push-ups, the same number of sit-ups and run two miles slightly faster. The fitness test is meant to set a baseline for physical fitness. KEYWORDS: U.S. ARMY WOMEN IN THE MILITARY

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